King James Version
Matthew 4
25 verses with commentary
The Temptation of Jesus
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Jesus being 'led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil' shows the Spirit's guidance into testing, not away from it. The Greek word 'tempted' (peirazō) can mean tested or enticed—here both apply. This wilderness testing immediately follows His baptismal anointing, demonstrating that spiritual high points often precede trials. Jesus must prove qualified as the Last Adam whe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
IV.
(1) The narrative of the Temptation is confessedly one of the most mysterious in the Gospel records. In one respect it stands almost, if not altogether, alone. It could not have come, directly or indirectly, from an eye-witness. We are compelled to look on it either as a mythical after-growth; as a supernatural revelation of facts that could not otherwise be known; or, lastly, as having had it...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. Whose fan--**winnowing fan.
**is in his hand--**ready for use. This is no other than the preaching of the Gospel, even now beginning, the effect of which would be to separate the solid from the spiritually worthless, as wheat, by the winnowing fan, from the chaff. (Compare the similar representation in Mal 3:1-3).
**and he will throughly purge his floor--**threshing-floor; that is, the v...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
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KJV Study Commentary
Christ's forty-day fast recapitulates Israel's forty years in the wilderness, but where Israel failed through grumbling and disobedience, Christ succeeded through perfect submission to the Father. The physical weakness from fasting made Jesus vulnerable to temptation, demonstrating that He faced genuine testing in His human nature. Yet Christ's victory proves He is the true Israel who keeps covena...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) Forty days and forty nights.—Here we have an obvious parallelism with the fasts of Moses (Exodus 34:28) and Elijah (1Kings 19:8), and we may well think of it as deliberately planned. Prolonged fasts of nearly the same extent have been recorded in later times. The effect of such a fast on any human organism, and therefore on our Lord’s real humanity, would be to interrupt the ordinary continuit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him--**Moses rashly anticipated the divine call to deliver his people, and for this was fain to flee the house of bondage, and wait in obscurity for forty years more (Ex 2:11, &c.). Not so this greater than Moses. All but thirty years had He now spent in privacy at Nazareth, gradually ripening for His public work, and ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
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KJV Study Commentary
The tempter's approach 'If thou be the Son of God' questions the Father's declaration at baptism (3:17), introducing doubt. The command 'make these stones bread' tempts Jesus to use divine power for self-serving purposes rather than trusting the Father's provision. This tests whether Jesus will act independently or in submission to God's will and timing.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **When the tempter came.**—Nothing in the narrative suggests the idea of a bodily presence visible to the eye of sense, and all attempts so to realise it, whether as Milton has done in *Paradise Regained,* or as by rationalistic commentators, who held that the Tempter was, or assumed the shape of, a scribe or priest, are unauthorised, and diminish our sense of the reality and mystery of the Te...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. But John forbade him--**rather, "was (in the act of) hindering him," or "attempting to hinder him."
**saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?--**(How John came to recognize Him, when he says he knew Him not, see on John 1. 31-34.) The emphasis of this most remarkable speech lies all in the pronouns: "What! Shall the Master come for baptism to the servant--the sin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus responds to Satan's temptation with Scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3, establishing the supremacy of God's word over physical needs. The phrase 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' (Greek: ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ, 'by bread alone') reveals the hierarchical ordering of human needs: spiritual sustenance supersedes physical sustenance. This echoes Is...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **It is written.**—The words of all the three answers to the Tempter come from two chapters of Deuteronomy, one of which (Deuteronomy 6) supplied one of the passages (6:4-9) for the phylacteries or frontlets worn by devout Jews. The fact is every way suggestive. A prominence was thus given to that portion of the book, which made it an essential part of the education of every Israelite. The wor...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now--**"Let it pass for the present"; that is, "Thou recoilest, and no wonder, for the seeming incongruity is startling; but in the present case do as thou art bidden."
**for thus it becometh us--**"us," not in the sense of "me and thee," or "men in general," but as in Joh 3:11.
**to fulfil all righteousness--**If this be rendered, wi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
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KJV Study Commentary
Satan's challenge 'If thou be the Son of God' attacks Christ's identity and tempts Him to prove His sonship through miraculous sign rather than trusting the Father's word declared at baptism. This parallels the serpent's 'Yea, hath God said?' (Genesis 3:1). The temptation was to use divine power for self-preservation rather than depend on providence, anticipating the later mockery at the cross: 'I...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) The order of the last two temptations is different in St. Luke, and the variation is instructive. Either St. Luke’s informant was less accurate than St. Matthew’s, or the impressions left on the minds of those to whom the mystery had been communicated were slightly different. Especially was this likely to be the case, if the trial had been (as the narratives of St. Mark and St. Luke show) prot...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water--**rather, "from the water." Mark has "out of the water" (Mr 1:10). "and"--adds Luke (Lu 3:21), "while He was praying"; a grand piece of information. Can there be a doubt about the burden of that prayer; a prayer sent up, probably, while yet in the water--His blessed head suffused with the baptismal element; a prayer contin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
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KJV Study Commentary
Satan correctly quotes Psalm 91:11-12 but distorts its application, demonstrating that Scripture can be misused when taken out of context or applied presumptuously. The psalm promises God's protection for those walking in His will, not for those testing Him through reckless acts. This shows that mere biblical knowledge or ability to quote Scripture doesn't guarantee sound doctrine—interpretation a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **If thou be the Son of God.**—In this case, as before, the temptation starts from the attestation of the character of Jesus as the Son of God. With this there is now joined an appeal to familiar and sacred words, and the subtlety of the Tempter lay in his perversion of their true meaning. Here, too, the words throw light on the previous spiritual life of the Son of Man. As in all analogous te...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is--**Mark and Luke give it in the direct form, "Thou art." (Mr 1:11; Lu 3:22).
**my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased--**The verb is put in the aorist to express absolute complacency, once and for ever felt towards Him. The English here, at least to modern ears, is scarcely strong enough. "I delight" comes the nearest, perhaps, to that ineffab...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. tempt: or, try, or, put to trial, or, proof
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus responds to the second temptation (presuming on God's protection by jumping from the temple) with 'It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God' (Deuteronomy 6:16). This shows that Scripture must interpret Scripture—Satan misapplied Psalm 91:11-12 by divorcing it from context. Tempting God means forcing His hand through presumptuous actions that require Him to act contrary to H...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **It is** **written again.**—The words are, as already stated, from the chapter that contains one of the passages written on the phylacteries, that were probably used by our Lord Himself. As the words stand in Deuteronomy 6:16, their general meaning is specialised by an historical reference, “Ye shall not tempt the Lord thy God, as ye tempted Him in Massah.” In the history thus referred to, th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
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KJV Study Commentary
This climactic temptation offers Christ all earthly kingdoms without the suffering of the cross, presenting a shortcut to dominion without substitutionary atonement. Satan's claim to give these kingdoms reveals his current role as 'god of this world' (2 Corinthians 4:4), though his authority is delegated and temporary. The temptation mirrors Satan's original rebellion—grasping equality with God th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **An exceeding high mountain.**—Here, if proof were wanted, we have evidence that all that passed in the Temptation was in the region of which the spirit, and not the senses, takes cognisance. No “specular mount” (I use Milton’s phrase) in the whole earth commands a survey of “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.” St. Luke’s addition “in a moment of time,” in one of those flas...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 4 Mt 4:1-11. Temptation of Christ. ( = Mr 1:12, 13; Lu 4:1-13).
**1. Then--**an indefinite note of sequence. But Mark's word (Mr 1:12) fixes what we should have presumed was meant, that it was "immediately" after His baptism; and with this agrees the statement of Luke (Lu 4:1).
**was Jesus led up--**that is, from the low Jordan valley to some more elevated spot.
**of the Spirit--**tha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Satan's demand for worship reveals his ultimate goal—usurping God's glory. The audacity of this demand to the incarnate Son shows Satan's delusion and pride. The temptation was to gain the world without the cross, receiving dominion through compromise rather than righteousness. Christ's mission required suffering and death to redeem His people; this temptation offered kingship without atonement, g...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **All these things will I give thee.**—St. Luke’s addition, “For that is (has been) delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it,” is full of significance. The offer made by the Tempter rested on the apparent evidence of the world’s history. The rulers of the world, its Herods and its Cæsars, seemed to have attained their eminence by trampling the laws of God under foot, and accepting...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights--**Luke says "When they were quite ended" (Lu 4:2).
**he was afterward an hungered--**evidently implying that the sensation of hunger was unfelt during all the forty days; coming on only at their close. So it was apparently with Moses (Ex 34:28) and Elijah (1Ki 19:8) for the same period. A supernatural power of endurance was of course impar...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' command 'Get thee hence, Satan' demonstrates His authority over the devil. The rebuke 'for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve' (Deuteronomy 6:13) exposes the temptation's essence—idolatry. Satan offered earthly kingdoms in exchange for worship, but Jesus came to gain those kingdoms through the cross, not compromise. Worship and service are inse...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) Get thee hence, Satan.—Once more the answer to the Tempter was found in the words of the *Tephillim* and the lessons of childhood. No evidence of power could change the eternal laws of duty. There came to the Son of Man the old command, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,” as an oracle from heaven, and this, rather than an attempt to refute the claim of sovereignty, was that on which He too...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. And when the tempter came to him--**Evidently we have here a new scene.
**he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread--**rather, "loaves," answering to "stones" in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, "Command this stone," in the singular, adds, "that it be made bread," in the singular (Lu 4:3). The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the forty days, see...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
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KJV Study Commentary
The phrase 'Then the devil leaveth him' shows testing has seasons—Satan departed 'for a season' (Luke 4:13), returning in Gethsemane and Calvary. Immediately, 'angels came and ministered unto him' demonstrates the Father's care after faithful endurance. Jesus' victory qualifies Him as our High Priest who understands temptation (Hebrews 4:15) and proves Him the obedient Son where Israel failed.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Angels came and ministered unto him.**—The tenses of the two verbs differ, the latter implying continued or repeated ministrations. Here also we are in the region of the spiritual life, and must be content to leave the nature of the ministration undefined, instead of sensualising it as poets and artists have done. What is instructive is, that the help of their service, the contrast between ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. But he answered and said, It is written--**(De 8:3).
**Man shall not live by bread alone--**more emphatically, as in the Greek, "Not by bread alone shall man live."
**but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God--**Of all passages in Old Testament Scripture, none could have been pitched upon more apposite, perhaps not one so apposite, to our Lord's purpose. "The Lord ... led ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The temptation of Christ.(1-11)
The opening of Christ's ministry in Galilee.(12-17)
Call of Simon and others.(18-22)
Jesus teaches and works miracles.(23-25)
**Verses 1-11**
Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special...
Read full commentary →Jesus Begins His Ministry
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; cast: or, delivered up
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KJV Study Commentary
The phrase 'Jesus heard that John was cast into prison' likely served as God's providential signal that Christ's public ministry should begin. John's imprisonment by Herod Antipas for condemning his unlawful marriage demonstrated the cost of faithful proclamation and foreshadowed Christ's own rejection. Jesus' departure to Galilee was strategic, not fearful—beginning ministry in the region prophes...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) Between the 11th and 12th verses there is a great break, and it is well to remember what passed in the interval: (1) the return to the Baptist, and the call of the six disciples (John 1:29-51); (2) the marriage at Cana, and the visit to Capernaum (John 2:1-12); (3) the cleansing of the Temple; the interview with Nicodemus, and the last testimony of the Baptist (John 2:13 to John 3:36). At thi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Then the devil taketh him up--**rather, "conducteth Him."
**into the holy city--**so called (as in Is 48:2; Ne 11:1) from its being "the city of the Great King," the seat of the temple, the metropolis of all Jewish worship.
**and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple--**rather, "the pinnacle"--a certain well-known projection. Whether this refers to the highest summit of the temple, whic...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it com...
Read full commentary →And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' relocation from Nazareth to Capernaum was both practical (Nazareth had rejected Him, Luke 4:16-30) and prophetically significant (fulfilling Isaiah 9:1-2). Capernaum became Jesus' ministry headquarters, a fishing town on Galilee's northwest shore. The move to 'the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim' deliberately fulfilled prophecy, demonstrating that Christ's entire ministry unfolded accordi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Leaving Nazareth.**—The form of the name in the older MSS. is Nazara. St. Matthew records the bare fact. St. Luke (Luke 4:16-30) connects it with His rejection by the men of this very place, where He had been brought up, and their attempt upon His life. St. John (John 2:12) states a fact which implies (1) that Capernaum had not been before the home of the mother of our Lord and of His breth...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God--**As this temptation starts with the same point as the first--our Lord's determination not to be disputed out of His Sonship--it seems to us clear that the one came directly after the other; and as the remaining temptation shows that the hope of carrying that point was abandoned, and all was staked upon a desperate venture, we think that remainin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it com...
Read full commentary →That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
Matthew's formula 'that it might be fulfilled' introduces another fulfillment quotation, showing Christ's ministry among the Gentiles was prophetically predetermined. Isaiah 9:1-2 promised light to those in darkness, which Matthew sees realized in Christ's Galilean ministry. This demonstrates the unity of Scripture and God's sovereign plan unfolding across centuries. Every detail of Christ's life ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) The light in which the fact of the migration presented itself to St. Matthew was, as with other facts, that it agreed with what had been spoken by a prophet. The abode of Nazareth had thus fulfilled one prediction, that at Capernaum fulfilled another.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again--**(De 6:16), as if he should say, "True, it is so written, and on that promise I implicitly rely; but in using it there is another Scripture which must not be forgotten."
**Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God--**"Preservation in danger is divinely pledged: shall I then create danger, either to put the promised security skeptically to the proof, or...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it com...
Read full commentary →The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
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KJV Study Commentary
The phrase 'Galilee of the Gentiles' emphasizes this region's mixed population and its historical role in God's plan to include the nations. Isaiah's prophecy pointed to this cosmopolitan region as the starting point for messianic light, demonstrating that God's salvation extends beyond ethnic Israel. Christ's ministry beginning here foreshadows the Great Commission to make disciples of all nation...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15-16) The citation is remarkable as the only reference in the New Testament to what seems to us the most wonderful and majestic of all Messianic prophecies; and still more remarkable as dwelling, not on the words so familiar to us, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given . . . ,” but on the merely local imagery which is a prelude to that great utterance, and on that, in a version which ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. Again, the devil taketh him up--**"conducteth him," as before.
**into--**or "unto"
**an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them--**Luke (Lu 4:5) adds the important clause, "in a moment of time"; a clause which seems to furnish a key to the true meaning. That a scene was presented to our Lord's natural eye seems plainly expressed. But t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it com...
Read full commentary →The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up .
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah's imagery of people in darkness seeing 'great light' describes spiritual awakening and salvation. The 'shadow of death' refers to the darkness of sin, judgment, and spiritual death in which all humanity exists apart from Christ. The phrase 'light is sprung up' indicates divine initiative—salvation comes to those in darkness by God's gracious illumination, not human seeking. This anticipates...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee--**"and the glory of them," adds Luke (Lu 4:6). But Matthew having already said that this was "showed Him," did not need to repeat it here. Luke (Lu 4:6) adds these other very important clauses, here omitted--"for that is," or "has been," "delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it." Was this wholly false? That were not like Sat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it com...
Read full commentary →From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
After John's imprisonment, Jesus begins preaching the identical message: 'Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' This continuity shows Jesus fulfills John's preparatory ministry. However, Jesus as King proclaims the kingdom's arrival with greater authority. 'From that time' marks the formal beginning of Jesus' Galilean ministry, demonstrating God's sovereign timing despite opposition.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **From that time** **Jesus began to preach.**—We have in these words St. Matthew’s record of the commencement of our Lord’s Galilean ministry. It is important to remember that it had been preceded by a ministry of some months in Judæa; that that ministry had been outwardly like that of the Baptist (John 4:1); and that He had withdrawn from it upon John’s imprisonment because He knew that His ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan--**Since the tempter has now thrown off the mask, and stands forth in his true character, our Lord no longer deals with him as a pretended friend and pious counsellor, but calls him by his right name--His knowledge of which from the outset He had carefully concealed till now--and orders him off. This is the final and conclusive evidence, as we...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-17**
It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it com...
Read full commentary →Jesus Calls the First Disciples
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' call of fishermen beside the Sea of Galilee demonstrates God's sovereign election of ordinary people for extraordinary purposes. Simon and Andrew's occupation as fishermen becomes prophetic symbolism—they would become 'fishers of men,' gathering people into God's kingdom. The seaside setting also recalls Jesus' later parables about the kingdom being like a net gathering fish (Matthew 13:47-...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee.**—In no part of the Gospel history is it more necessary to remember St. John’s record as we read that of the Three, than in this call of the disciples. Here, everything seems sudden and abrupt. There we learn that those who were now called had some months before accepted Him as the Christ (John 1:35-43), and had, some or all of them, been with Him d...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. Then the devil leaveth him--**Luke says, "And when the devil had exhausted"--or "quite ended," as in Lu 4:2--"every (mode of) temptation, he departed from him till a season." The definite "season" here indicated is expressly referred to by our Lord in Joh 14:30 and Lu 22:52, 53.
**and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him--**or supplied Him with food, as the same expression means in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-22**
When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and ...
Read full commentary →And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' call 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men' transforms the disciples' occupation into a metaphor for evangelism. The promise 'I will make you' shows discipleship is a process where Christ shapes His followers. The shift from catching fish to catching men requires leaving former occupations and priorities—following precedes being 'made' effective.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Follow me.**—The command came, as we have seen, to those who were not unprepared. Short as it was, it was in some sense the first parable in our Lord’s teaching, the germ of an actual parable (Matthew 13:47). It suggested a whole circle of thoughts. The sea is the troubled and evil world (Isaiah 57:20), and the souls of men are the fish that have to be caught and taken from it, and the net ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison--**more simply, "was delivered up," as recorded in Mt 14:3-5; Mr 6:17-20; Lu 3:19, 20.
**he departed--**rather, "withdrew."
**into Galilee--**as recorded, in its proper place, in Joh 4:1-3.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-22**
When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and ...
Read full commentary →And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
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KJV Study Commentary
The phrase 'they straightway left their nets' emphasizes the immediate, unconditional obedience that characterizes genuine discipleship. Their willingness to abandon livelihood and security demonstrates that Christ's call supersedes all earthly attachments and responsibilities. This immediate response was enabled by divine grace effectually calling them—illustrating irresistible grace in Reformed ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. And leaving Nazareth--**The prevalent opinion is that this refers to a first visit to Nazareth after His baptism, whose details are given by Luke (Lu 4:16, &c.); a second visit being that detailed by our Evangelist (Mt 13:54-58), and by Mark (Mr 6:1-6). But to us there seem all but insuperable difficulties in the supposition of two visits to Nazareth after His baptism; and on the grounds...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-22**
When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and ...
Read full commentary →And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
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KJV Study Commentary
The call of James and John follows the same pattern—Jesus calls, they immediately follow. The detail that they left 'their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants' shows they left family responsibilities and business interests. Yet this abandonment was not irresponsible but responsive to a higher calling. Christ's call takes precedence even over family obligations, though not in a way t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Mending their nets.**—On the assumption that the facts in St. Luke preceded what we read here, the “mending” might seem the natural consequence of the “breaking” there described, and be noted as an undesigned coincidence. It must be remembered, however, (1) that the “mending” as well as “washing” flowed naturally even on a night of unsuccessful fishing, and (2) that the Greek of St. Luke do...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet--**(Is 9:1, 2 or, as in Hebrew, Isaiah 8:23, and 9:1).
**saying--**as follows:
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-22**
When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and ...
Read full commentary →And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
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KJV Study Commentary
The repetition of immediate obedience ('immediately they left the ship and their father, and followed him') reinforces the radical nature of discipleship. True conversion produces immediate, visible transformation of life priorities. The detail that Zebedee remained with hired servants suggests the business would continue, showing that obeying Christ's call doesn't necessarily destroy what we leav...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Left the ship and their father.**—St. Mark adds, with the hired servants,” a fact of interest as showing that the sons of Zebedee were probably, in some measure, of better means and higher social standing than those of Jona. The absence of the name of the latter suggests the inference that he was no longer living.
The sacrifice of the disciples seems, perhaps, small as compared with others ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea--**the coast skirting the Sea of Galilee westward--beyond Jordan--a phrase commonly meaning eastward of Jordan; but here and in several places it means westward of the Jordan. The word seems to have got the general meaning of "the other side"; the nature of the case determining which side that was.
**Galilee of the Gent...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-22**
When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and ...
Read full commentary →And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse summarizes Jesus' three-fold ministry: teaching in synagogues (instruction), preaching the gospel of the kingdom (proclamation), and healing all manner of disease (demonstration). 'All Galilee' shows the comprehensive scope of His early ministry. The combination of word and deed authenticated His message—the kingdom was breaking in through both truth and power.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Preaching the gospel of the kingdom.**—As far as regards St. Matthew this is the first occurrence of the phrase. It tells of a vast amount of unrecorded teaching, varying in form, yet essentially the same—a call to repentance—the good news of a kingdom of heaven not far off—the witness, by act for the most part rather than words, that He was Himself the Head of that kingdom.
**Healing all m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up--**The prophetic strain to which these words belong commences with the seventh chapter of Isaiah, to which the sixth chapter is introductory, and goes down to the end of the twelfth chapter, which hymns the spirit of that whole strain of prophecy. It belongs to the rei...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-25**
Wherever Christ went, he confirmed his Divine mission by miracles, which were emblems of the healing power of his doctrine, and the influences of the Spirit which accompanied it. We do not now find the Saviour's miraculous healing power in our bodies; but if we are cured by medicine, the praise is equally his. Three general words are here used. He healed every sickness or dise...
Read full commentary →And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' comprehensive healing ministry demonstrated His divine authority and compassionate character. The breadth of ailments healed—'all manner of sickness and all manner of disease'—shows no malady was beyond His power. These healings were not merely humanitarian but served as 'signs' authenticating His messianic identity (Isaiah 35:5-6) and demonstrating His authority over the effects of the fal...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Throughout all Syria.**—The word is probably used popularly, rather than with the definite significance of the Roman province with which St. Luke uses it in Luke 2:2. Our Lord’s ministry, with the one exception of the journey to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21), was confined to what is commonly known as Palestine. Traces of the wider fame are, however, found in the mention of he...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--**Thus did our Lord not only take up the strain, but give forth the identical summons of His honored forerunner. Our Lord sometimes speaks of the new kingdom as already come--in His own Person and ministry; but the economy of it was only "at hand" until the blood of the cross was shed, and the Spi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-25**
Wherever Christ went, he confirmed his Divine mission by miracles, which were emblems of the healing power of his doctrine, and the influences of the Spirit which accompanied it. We do not now find the Saviour's miraculous healing power in our bodies; but if we are cured by medicine, the praise is equally his. Three general words are here used. He healed every sickness or dise...
Read full commentary →And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'great multitudes' following Jesus from multiple regions demonstrates the magnetic power of His teaching and miracles. The geographic breadth—Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond Jordan—shows how quickly His fame spread. These crowds represent varied motives: some sought healing, others teaching, some were merely curious. This mixed multitude foreshadows the visible church containi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Decapolis.**—The district so named was formed by the Romans on their first conquest of Syria, B.C. 65, and, speaking roughly, included a tract of country east and south-east of the Sea of Galilee. The ten cities from which the region took its name are given by Pliny (v. 18)—though with the reservation that the list was given differently by others—as Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Phila...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. And Jesus, walking--**The word "Jesus" here appears not to belong to the text, but to have been introduced from those portions of it which were transcribed to be used as church lessons; where it was naturally introduced as a connecting word at the commencement of a lesson.
**by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-25**
Wherever Christ went, he confirmed his Divine mission by miracles, which were emblems of the healing power of his doctrine, and the influences of the Spirit which accompanied it. We do not now find the Saviour's miraculous healing power in our bodies; but if we are cured by medicine, the praise is equally his. Three general words are here used. He healed every sickness or dise...
Read full commentary →